Daily Archives: September 25, 2018

Last spring, Finland’s sawmill industry said that pulp mills’ growing hunger for wood and the rising price of raw lumber had cut profit margins to almost nothing. It warned that some sawmills might have to shut down. That has not happened, though. “The situation has improved thanks to better prices for our products and growing markets for by-products,” says Kai Merivuori, managing director of the Finnish Sawmills Association. He says that exports to Asia and Europe are keeping Finnish sawmills alive. When asked where the most room for growth is, Merivuori replies, “China, China and China.” …The domestic market accounts for about a quarter of the sawmill industry’s sales… Kopra would like to see a sharp boost in domestic sales. …Finland’s sawmills use almost entirely domestic timber – and increasingly have to compete for it with the pulp and paper sector, which has been making large investments and mill expansions.

The FSC acknowledges stakeholder concerns about the credibility of its ‘controlled wood’ standard and is inviting feedback on its review. There are three FSC labels: FSC 100%, FSC Mix and FSC Recycled. FSC controlled wood is uncertified virgin wood or wood fibre that can be mixed with FSC-certified material in products that carry the FSC Mix label. The mixing of FSC and non-FSC materials in FSC products has helped to enable the growth of FSC. However, this mixing has created a conflict between credibility and accessibility. FSC has been engaging with stakeholders for more than two years to agree on a shared vision for the future of ‘FSC Mix’ products and the controlled wood used to produce them. 

One could not expect anything but transparency from the 2018 sponsor for the Sustainability Awards’ Achievement of Merit, Innowood Australia. As part of their commitment to sustainable development they have invested in the certification of their products through a number of reputable third parties, leading the way in promoting good business practice and preventing misinformed specification decisions among architects and designers.  Third party certification from reputable groups such as Standards Australia, CodeMark, or the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Green Star program help provide consumers with the ability to make informed decisions regarding the products they purchase or specify. This is important for a number of reasons, but all of them are linked to encouraging more sustainable business practices within architecture and design. 

IKEA uses a lot of lumber. …Is IKEA callously felling old-growth forests to prop up our old college textbooks? No, for years it has sourced its lumber from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. But you won’t see that fact trumpeted on the box or in the catalogue. IKEA keeps that indicator of environmental uprightness to itself. IKEA isn’t alone. We noticed a few years ago that other large organizations are often remaining silent about their certifications and achievements. Why would a company that has qualified for a prestigious environmental certification keep the news to itself? … Strangely, some firms elect to remain silent and leave that value on the table. …Consequently, our findings suggest a word to the wise: that policymakers, NGOs, and other activists interested in promoting socially responsible practices should be careful that their efforts to monitor corporate accountability do not stifle the very practices they intend to encourage.